Dell XPS L501x, BSOD 0x00000124

sine · 15 Jun 2012

Here is an image of the error.

I currently have no OS installed on the machine and I'm therefore unable to run the debuggers as described on this forum. The Blue Screen seen was first encountered when Windows was installed, I attempted to flatten the system (as I was unaware that it was hardware related) only to find the error recurred during the installation. When I try to recover directories such as

Code:

$WINDOWS.~BT\Sources\Rollback

from an Ubuntu Live CD, I get kernel panics after the system has been running for a variable amount of time. (By which I mean a random amount, sometimes it happen instantly and others it runs for 30+ minutes)

The system shipped with an Intel Core i3 370M processor which I've since upgraded to an Intel Core i5 540M. There's no issues with regards to compatibility with this upgrade, in fact it's been running fine for months. I did however apply very cheap thermal paste from eBay very thick and messy. I suspect the issues are a result of overheating since the system has been running quite hot prior to the errors, however I'm not 100% sure.

Thanks for any help in advance.

DELL MOHAMMED · 15 Jun 2012

Hi Sine,

My name Mohammed and I am from DELL social media outreach team.
Run a hardware diagnostic to make sure hardware is working fine. If the diagnostic passes then install the operating system

Link for the PSA test

How to Run the Dell 32-bit Diagnostics Utility | Dell

Regards
DELL-Mohammed

sine · 15 Jun 2012

Hi Mohammed, thanks a lot for your reply,

I ran the diagnostics utility, which returned no problems on the quick run. I chose to continue with the full test which ran for 1 hour (despite the 30 minute estimated time) and stuck on 5%. (It was running lots of CPU and Memory tests) The system started to get hot (as I'd expect) to I cancelled. Is this normal?

Still getting the same Blue Screen error in the Windows installation.

usasma · 16 Jun 2012

Start with these free, bootable diagnostics: Initial Hardware Diagnostics

Also, if the system is getting hot during the Dell diagnostics, then you've got to take a look at what's happening with your cooling solution (CPU, RAM, HDD, Chipset). Check the temps when running the tests that make it hot. If you don't have an infrared sensing thermometer, try unplugging the system from the wall, grounding yourself by holding onto the metal of the case, and feeling NEAR (DO NOT TOUCH) the different components. Things that seem too hot to touch are probably in need of investigation. FYI - I have received 2nd degree burns from touching hot components inside of a case.

Additionally, there are other bootable diagnostic tests available on things like the Ultimate Boot CD. Have a search with Google/Bing to get more info.

DELL MOHAMMED · 18 Jun 2012

Hi sine

My name Mohammed and I am from DELL social media outreach team.

Adding to the above steps also wanted to know if you have installed any PCI card on your computer, if yes it will be helpful if you provide us the details about it.

Regards
DELL-Mohammed

sine · 28 Jun 2012

Hi,

I've cleaned and repasted the CPU and GPU, then cleaned out all of the cooling system. Windows 7 still will not install, but for some reason Vista will. When monitoring the temperatures I see an average of 50-60 degrees Celsius on the CPU (idle), is this normal?

I have some dumps and logs from a BSOD that I experienced in Vista.

Thanks a lot

usasma · 28 Jun 2012

DELL-Mohammed is probably more familiar with the temps - but if this is a laptop, the temps appear to be normal.

Did you run the diagnostics that I suggested? If so what were the results?

sine · 28 Jun 2012

Ah, sorry, I'll get that done right now. It's still getting the blue screens, I attached a mini dump that was created is that of any use?

I'll get back to you as soon as I get the test results.

usasma · 28 Jun 2012

The memory dump shows that it's a hardware error (STOP 0x124).
As there are no 3rd party drivers listed (this is very unusual), we have to suspect either a hardware problem (most likely) or a Windows problem (less likely).

The tests that I asked for are just the start - there's a whole bunch of stuff to do to try and figure out which piece of hardware it might be.

FWIW - if it is the hard drive, your first step should be to backup everything that you can. There's no telling when the hard drive will die completely, so backing it up now will save you from having to pay a professional recovery service a whole bunch of money later on.

sine · 28 Jun 2012

None of the diagnostics flag up any problems, just like the onboard Dell diagnostics didn't. There's nothing on the HDD to recover anyway, it's just a mess. There was no third party drivers installed as I was running Vista at the time and that is unsupported for my system. (Windows 7 kept failing so I tried a Vista disk to see if it was a problem with the 7 DVD)

What would you suggest I do next?

I don't think this will help at all, but the Windows 7 installation always fails around 40%